NetEase Inc (NASDAQ:NTES) shares experienced their most enormous intraday surge in a month in Hong Kong as the company prepares to launch the mobile version of its major summer release, Naraka Bladepoint.
The Hangzhou-based publisher expects to generate 6.4 billion yuan ($880 million) in sales from the game over its first 12 months, with Naraka Mobile contributing 6% to 7% of overall revenue growth during that period, Bloomberg reports. NetEase stock is up 2.2% in Wednesday's trading session.
NetEase has already garnered over 40 million pre-registrations for the freemium mobile game. Previously, Naraka Bladepoint attracted over 40 million PC players, and the company expects the mobile edition to surpass that success.
Ray Kuan, the lead producer for the battle royale game, told Bloomberg that switching to a free-to-play model for the PC game significantly boosted revenue, increasing confidence in the mobile version's potential.
Both Tencent and NetEase faced delays in releasing their mobile games due to Beijing's pause on new game licenses.
Naraka's established monetization system, encouraging players to purchase cosmetics and extras, remains a crucial strategy.
Naraka Bladepoint Mobile will also feature NetEase's most advanced in-game AI, offering a copilot to assist players in two-on-two battle mode.
In June, Tencent and Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA) won approval from China for 104 new video games. In April 2022, Beijing restarted licensing video games after an eight-month freeze.
Price Action: NTES shares traded higher by 2.20% at $95.40 at the last check on Wednesday.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.